Features

Education Estates preview

The UK’s leading education buildings and learning spaces event is back on 16-17 October at Manchester Central, with over 100 exhibitors and speakers, five stages and seven interactive feature areas

Education Estates is going space age this year with inflatable cubes housing the main conference stages on the exhibition floor, and an inflated festival-style arch over the Keynote stage. The event has over 100 exhibitors, more than 100 speakers, five stages and seven Interactive Feature Areas.

Over the two-day event on 16-17 October, the conference offers four parallel sessions. The Schools Stage, and Colleges & Universities Stage operates paid-for programmes, which are free to attend for all those directly employed in schools, colleges, universities, and national and local government (includes governors and independent schools). The Keynote Stage is open to all attendees and will feature Keynote addresses from The Education and Skills Funding Agency, the Northern Powerhouse, LocatEd, and Education Policy Institute. The SEN, Early Years, and Good Estate Management Stages are also open to all and are positioned on the exhibition floor and bursting with content and advice.

Conference Programme

The event’s conference programme is curated by an advisory group of experts from top contractors, architects and education establishments, and takes on the challenge of covering the huge array of subjects that are foremost in the design, build, management and maintenance of buildings and learning spaces for educational use. The programme goes beyond that, in looking at the impact of education buildings, whether on the largest of university campuses, small primary schools, or early years settings, on the communities in which they sit, on the experience of those that use them, and the qualities that they convey to future generations of learners.

Mike Green, acting director general and chief operating officer of the Department for Education, and lead of the Operations Directorate, will give the opening Keynote presentation at Education Estates on 16 October. The Department for Education is again supporting the event this year, and said: “The Department for Education has contributed to Education Estates for several years and is fully supportive of the event again in 2018. This key industry event for the education sector provides best practice, sharing of ideas, and a platform for discussion and debate for those involved in all levels of education buildings design, maintenance and management, and the design and creation of learning spaces. The ESFA Efficiency Award recognises efficiency in education buildings operation and management, and will be awarded again at the 2018 event.“

The Exhibition is free to all visitors and delegates. The conference is complimentary for those directly employed in schools, colleges, universities, national and local government (includes governors and independent schools). If you’re from the private sector and would like to attend the conference then delegate rates apply.